Outcomes of enteral nutrition for patients with advanced dementia: a systematic review

The present article aims to evaluate the outcomes of enteral nutrition for people with advanced dementia. A systematic review was conducted by searching The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PROQUEST and LILACS for articles that were published from 2008 to 2013. Prospective and retrospective studies involving a control group were searched. Data were independently extracted and assessed by one reviewer and checked by a second. Searched outcomes included survival, clinical and nutritional parameters and complications. In total, nine controlled studies were identified from several parts of the world: Israel, Italy, Japan, the United States and Brazil. Most of the studies did not report any outcome of harm with enteral nutrition use in dementia patients compared with patients without dementia. A study with a higher follow-up period demonstrated improvements in albumin, weight and chronic inflammation parameters. It is not possible to affirm that tube feeding is harmful for dementia patients. Thus, an adequate follow-up by a multidisciplinary team may lower complications associated with this therapy and thus improve survival.